History Main / HumanHardDrive

* In ''Literature/SmallGods'', Brutha has a PhotographicMemory, so when a library is burning down, people make him read the books so they can still have the information. Unfortunately, he's also illiterate, [[spoiler:but it works out okay]].

** Layla Miller in ''ComicBook/XFactor2006''. [[{{Catchphrase}} She knows stuff]]. At first, it seems that "knowing stuff" is her mutant power, but in fact, [[spoiler:her future self downloaded all the knowledge into the present Layla's brain]].

* Index Librorum Prohibitorum from ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', who has memorized the complete contents of 103,000 magical grimoires, giving her a near-complete knowledge of all magic.

* Dantallian from ''LightNovel/TheMysticArchivesOfDantalian'' is technically a gateway to an actual library, but the net result is still this trope.
* Yuki Nagato from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', a "data entity" who remembers every irrelevant detail of [[spoiler:[[GroundhogDayLoop 595 years of summer vacation]]]], and presumably everything else.
* In ''Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit'', one of the ''Mikado's'' elite memorizes a book of delivery tickets by flipping through it.
* All the Persocoms in ''Manga/{{Chobits}}'', although it's implied that the Chobits series of androids can do much more.
* In ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'', after the central library burns down, we learn that a former librarian named Sheska has memorized the entire contents of all of the books in the library. She is then paid by the Elric brothers to recreate books from the library.

* Layla Miller in ''ComicBook/XFactor''. [[CatchPhrase She knows stuff]]. At first it seems that "knowing stuff" is her mutant power, but in fact [[spoiler: Future!Layla downloaded all the knowledge into Past!Layla's brain]].
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': in the "Age of X" alternate timeline, Rogue's code name was Reaper and it was her job to save all the memories of fallen mutants.

* Mr Memory, in the Creator/AlfredHitchcock film ''Film/{{The 39 Steps|1935}}'', is a man with perfect memory who travels around the world answering trivia questions from the audience. He is also the "39 Steps" organization's human database and file cabinet. He knows every last detail reported to him and is able to recite it instantly at will. He's used to smuggle stolen governmental and military information between international borders, as no amount of searching by security can find the stolen documents.
* In ''Film/FlightOfTheNavigator'', the boy was abducted by an alien spacecraft and had a bunch of star charts stuffed into the other NinetyPercentOfYourBrain. When he was returned, he was taken in by government scientists first to figure out why he hadn't aged in several years, and they discovered all the maps/charts stored inside his brain.
* In the 2002 film of ''Film/{{The Time Machine|2002}}'', a holographic AI librarian/computer called Vox works at the New York Public Library. Vox looks like a human and can answer any question you ask it.
* College student Dexter Riley becomes one of these accidentally in ''Film/TheComputerWoreTennisShoes'' when [[LightningCanDoAnything a bolt of lightning strikes the building he's in]], super-charging the circuitry of the computer he was working on and transferring all of the computer's data unto him.

* In ''Literature/{{Fahrenheit 451}}'', all of the rebels become these, each committing one entire book to memory so they can recite it if all copies of it are destroyed.

* The organization of Keepers in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' have learned to store memories in copper, which they can use to store centuries of history, so that when the [[EvilOverlord Lord Ruler]] is killed, they can share what was lost.
* Captain Phantastic in ''[[Literature/ThursdayNext One of Our Thursdays Is Missing]]''. Granted, he's an elephant and not a human being, but he's a CivilizedAnimal working as the filing system for Jurisfiction and JAID in the [=BookWorld=].

* In the ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels, Amberley's savant, Caractacus Mott, is portrayed as a GibberingGenius and has a habit of giving more exposition than Amberley would like Cain to receive.
* Simon Illyan in ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' has an implanted organic chip that records everything he sees and hears, and which he can recall later. Most people who got the implant went crazy. Subverted in that only he has access to the memories, and that most of the memories stored are near useless.

* There's the Karma Catechist from the [[Literature/SecretHistories Eddie Drood books]] by Simon R. Green. He's a human storehouse of magical knowledge -- ALL the magical knowledge.
* In ''Literature/SmallGods'', Brutha has a PhotographicMemory, so when a library is burning down, people make him read the books so they can still have the information. Unfortunately, he's also illiterate. [[spoiler:But it works out okay]].
* Brian Henrickson of ''Literature/TimeScout'' has a PhotographicMemory and works as a librarian. He might not have read '''every''' book important to the work of scouting and guiding, but you'll never prove it.
* The Mnemonic Service in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Sucker Bait''.
* ''Literature/TheFirstMenInTheMoon'' has some moon-aliens with ridiculously large heads, whose sole purpose is to remember things. They are brought in so they can learn English vocabulary from the humans.
* In Creator/MichaelKurland's novel ''Literature/TheUnicornGirl'', the protagonists encounter a traveling band of hippies, which include a young woman who read an entire encyclopedia while under the influence of powerful drugs. She is able to answer an astounding array of technical or historical questions, but nothing about herself or her own feelings.

* ''Literature/InCryptid'': The Aeslin mice have a PhotographicMemory and remember anything one of them has witnessed (and told the rest), incorporating it into their [[AnimalReligion liturgy]]. The Price-Healy family, whom they revere as gods, use the mice are a perfect record of their family history, and when going on long, dangerous trips, they always carry a mouse or two with them in case they don't come back.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' featured a "Vicker", as in "VCR", in one episode. This is someone whose brain has been re-purposed as a recording device, which can preserve information without contaminating it with personal opinions. If scanned by a telepath, they have no detectable thoughts of their own.
* The early 80s TV series ''ZorroAndSon'' featured Corporal Cassette, who could recite back any conversation that took place in his presence -- a {{Namesake Gag}} on cassette tapes. (Played by John Moschitta, the fast-talk guy.)

* In ''Series/{{Eureka}}'', an InstantAIJustAddWater creates a human body nearly from scratch and backups all information into the person's cells.
* The ''Series/TheNewAvengers'' episode "The Three-Handed Game" features three agents with perfect memory. Each of them was shown one-third of a secret message and was sent to deliver it via a different route, so that in theory nobody could intercept the entire message. (Come to think of it, kinda like the way data packets work on the internet.) Of course the bad guy figures out a way.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Wolfram and Hart have a worker in "Files and Records" who appears to have memorised the entirety of their resources. How does she know about the demon hunter who appeared and is fulfilling the ancient prophecy? "I'm Files and Records. It's my job"

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
** Savants/Sages serve as these to inquisitors in the ''40k'' universe. They're cybernetically enhanced to allow them to better store data and live long enough to gather it.

* Isabella in ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]''.
* ''VideoGame/MegamanZero'': Maha Ganeshariff was designed as a data server... who also works as an armored LightningBruiser. He was sent to Zero's original resting place to gather information, and after you defeat him, you gain access to two new weapons for Zero (or, if [[AllThereInTheManual you go with the manual's explanation]], [[SwissArmyWeapon more variations of the Z-Saber]]).
* ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'': Protectos the Goreroid has a similar role, a weaponized living storage server. However, unlike his counterpart, he's more of a traditional MightyGlacier who likes to spam missiles and bombs.

* Creator/HGWells' "The First Men on the Moon" has some moon-aliens with ridiculously large heads, whose sole purpose is to remember things. They are brought in so they can learn English vocabulary from the humans.

Whether the Human Hard Drive is capable of doing anything with the knowledge (except recite it when queried) will vary. Whether they're [[MySkullRunnethOver left capable of]] doing anything ''else'' will also vary. A Human Hard Drive isn't necessarily human, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman but they are considered a person]], so some androids and AI programs still count.

* Dantallian from ''LightNovel/BibliothecaMysticaDeDantalian'' is technically a gateway to an actual library, but the net result is still this trope.

* Disk from ''Manga/{{Needless}}''.

* In ''Anime/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit'', one of the ''Mikado's'' elite memorizes a book of delivery tickets by flipping through it.

* Hieda no Akyuu from ''Videogame/{{Touhou}}'' holds memories of the human village from before she was born.
* Isabella in ''[[Videogame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]''.
* ''Videogame/MegamanZero'': Maha Ganeshariff was designed as a data server... who also works as an armored LightningBruiser. He was sent to Zero's original resting place to gather information, and after you defeat him, you gain access to two new weapons for Zero (or, if [[AllThereInTheManual you go with the manual's explanation]], [[SwissArmyWeapon more variations of the Z-Saber]]).

* The ''[[Series/TheAvengers New Avengers]]'' episode "The Three-Handed Game" features three agents with perfect memory. Each of them was shown one-third of a secret message and was sent to deliver it via a different route, so that in theory nobody could intercept the entire message. (Come to think of it, kinda like the way data packets work on the internet.) Of course the bad guy figures out a way.

* In ''Discworld/SmallGods'', Brutha has a PhotographicMemory, so when a library is burning down, people make him read the books so they can still have the information. Unfortunately, he's also illiterate. [[spoiler:But it works out okay]].

* ''Videogame/MegamanZero'':
** Maha Ganeshariff was designed as a data server... who also works as an armored LightningBruiser. He was sent to Zero's original resting place to gather information, and after you defeat him, you gain access to two new weapons for Zero (or, if [[AllThereInTheManual you go with the manual's explanation]], [[SwissArmyWeapon more variations of the Z-Saber]]).
** Protectos the Goreroid has a similar role, a weaponized living storage server. However, unlike his counterpart, he's more of a traditional MightyGlacier.

* Isabella in ''[[Vidoegame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]''.

* College student Dexter Riley becomes one of these accidentally in ''Film/TheComputerWoreTennisShoes'' when [[LightningDoesAnything a bolt of lightning strikes the building he's in]], super-charging the circuitry of the computer he was working on and transferring all of the computer's data unto him.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 400000}}'':

When GreatBigLibraryOfEverything is just too large and a GreatBigBookOfEverything is too impersonal, these characters are trained or [[NeuralImplanting modified (by science or magic)]] to retain (nigh-)superhuman quantities of knowledge, and then wait around until their memories are called on.

* There's the Karma Catechist from the [[SecretHistories Eddie Drood books]] by Simon R. Green. He's a human storehouse of magical knowledge -- ALL the magical knowledge.

* In the 2002 film of ''TheTimeMachine'', a holographic AI librarian/computer called Vox works at the New York Public Library. Vox looks like a human and can answer any question you ask it.

->"You were expecting a book. An ancient tome filled with the secrets that you seek. But instead, you have found me."

!!Examples
[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Layla Miller in ''ComicBook/{{X-Factor}}''. [[CatchPhrase She knows stuff]]. At first it seems that "knowing stuff" is her mutant power, but in fact [[spoiler: Future!Layla downloaded all the knowledge into Past!Layla's brain]].
* ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'': in the "Age of X" alternate timeline, Rogue's code name was Reaper and it was her job to save all the memories of fallen mutants.
* In ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'', a doomsday cult is looking for something called the Book of the Fifth Window. It turns out to be a young man with writing all over his skin.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* The lead character in ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'' has an 80Gb hard drive implanted in his brain for the purposes of carrying sensitive infodata.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

* Appears (in UnbuiltTrope form) in the JorgeLuisBorges story "FunesTheMemorious". The title character's absolute, perfect memory -- the result of a head injury -- is useless, since every sensation or miniscule change in an object registers as a separate memory, requiring a specific name, to the point of near-sensory overload.
* In the ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels, Amberley's savant, Caractacus Mott, is portrayed as a GibberingGenius and has a habit of giving more exposition than Amberley would like Cain to recieve.

* In ''Discworld/SmallGods'', Brutha has a PhotographicMemory, so when a library is burning down, people make him read the books so they can still have the information. Unfortunately, he's also illiterate. [[spoiler: But it works out okay]].

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

* In an episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'', SG-1 encounters a world where specialist children called "Urrone" learn a subject for ten years, and then "graduate", sharing their knowledge with the rest of their people. That's pretty much their whole purpose in society [[spoiler:because they have nanites in their brains that are removed and distributed upon "graduation", leaving the children in an infant-like state for the rest of their lives]]. (At the end, we discover that [[spoiler:the Urrone can, in fact, learn the old-fashioned way, maybe even have a normal life but for those ten years lost]].)

* In ''{{Series/Eureka}}'', an InstantAIJustAddWater creates a human body nearly from scratch and backups all information into the person's cells.

* As an Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH), the Doctor from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' was made specifically to contain all the knowledge of Starfleet medical officers (the reason he is a hologram instead of just keeping the knowledge on a databank is in the name -- the EMH is intended to act as a doctor in emergency situations where a real Starfleet medical officer is not available). The EMH also appears in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' and ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', but on Voyager he becomes a necessary part of the crew and comes to be treated as a person. An interesting reversal of the usual process: "hard drive" first, "human" later.

[[AC: TabletopGames]]
* Savants/Sages serve as these to inquisitors in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40K}}'' universe. They're cybernetically enhanced to allow them to better store data and live long enough to gather it.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Dyus from [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Shivering Isles]] was implied to be a library or a book, before he was encountered.

* Maha Ganeshariff from ''Videogame/MegamanZero'' was designed as a data server... who also works as an armored {{Lightning Bruiser}}. He was sent to Zero's original resting place to gather information, and after you defeat him, you gain access to two new weapons for Zero (or, if [[AllThereInTheManual you go with the manual's explanation]], [[SwissArmyWeapon more variations of the Z-Saber]]).

[[AC:RealLife]]

** In ancient Greece, musicians and storytellers, and sometimes the educated elite, were supposed to be able to recite the most famous epics (usually ''Literature/TheIliad'' or ''Literature/TheOdyssey'') by heart. As reported by his disciple {{Creator/Plato}}, {{Creator/Socrates}} was against writing itself: "It destroys memory and weakens the mind, relieving it of work that makes it strong. It is an inhuman thing."

-->--Dyus, ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Shivering Isles]]''

Very often overlaps with MacGuffinGirl, since a character like this will often become a point of conflict due to the knowledge they have. If they are instead (or also) part of the FiveManBand, they will be TheSmartGuy. If the Human Hard Drive bears the burden of exposition, this trope may overlap with both MrExposition and {{Expositron 9000}}, simultaneously.

* Index from ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex''.

* The ''NewAvengers'' episode "The Three-Handed Game" featured three agents with perfect memory. Each of them was shown one-third of a secret message and was sent to deliver it via a different route, so that in theory nobody could intercept the entire message. (Come to think of it, kinda like the way data packets work on the internet.) Of course the bad guy figured out a way.

* Mr Memory, in the Creator/AlfredHitchcock film ''Literature/TheThirtyNineSteps'', is a man with perfect memory who travels around the world answering trivia questions from the audience. He is also the "39 Steps" organization's human database and file cabinet. He knows every last detail reported to him and is able to recite it instantly at will. He's used to smuggle stolen governmental and military information between international borders, as no amount of searching by security can find the stolen documents.

* In ''Anime/SeireiNoMoribito'', one of the ''Mikado's'' elite memorizes a book of delivery tickets by flipping through it.

* The organization of Keepers in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' have learned to store memories in copper, which they can use to store centuries of history, so that when the Lord Emperor is killed, they can share what was lost.

* The title character of ''{{Chuck}}'' (a.k.a. "The Intersect"). He gets CIA and NSA information embedded in his head, necessitating one agent from each to protect him. Of course, he can use the combined intelligence to figure out scenarios that each agency wouldn't on its own.

* As an Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH), the Doctor from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' was made specifically to contain all the knowledge of Starfleet medical officers. The EMH also appears in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' and ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', but on Voyager he becomes a necessary part of the crew and comes to be treated as a person. An interesting reversal of the usual process: "hard drive" first, "human" later.

* The organization of Keepers in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' are this.